


Handmade Gift

by chiiyo86



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Coping, Friendship, Gen, Knitting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:40:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22682641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chiiyo86/pseuds/chiiyo86
Summary: Jon and Daisy take up knitting.
Relationships: Alice "Daisy" Tonner & Jonathan Sims
Comments: 10
Kudos: 115
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	Handmade Gift

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nemainofthewater](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nemainofthewater/gifts).



> Jon and Daisy's burgeoning friendship in season 4 was something I never even knew I wanted. The idea of them taking up a hobby together was too cute to resist. Hope you enjoy the treat!

It had been Daisy’s idea. Jon hadn’t been looking for a new hobby, busy as he was with figuring out what various eldritch abominations were up to, piecing together what had happened in the past, coming to terms with his new status as a not-so-human being, and fighting his cravings. The last part, actually, was the leverage that Daisy had used to finally convince him to give it a try.

“And you say it helps?” he’d asked as he watched her empty her canvas bag from its content—a truly astounding amount of yarn, in bright and dark colours, some it thick and fluffy, some of it thin and compact, sometimes gathered in balls, sometimes in twisted braids. 

“A bit,” she’d said. “Keeps you busy, and focused. Keeps you in the moment. Stops your mind from wandering to… other things.” She’d looked up at him then, her eyes all too knowing. 

This was how Jon had taken up knitting. He’d never been much of a manual type and his first attempt was going very poorly, even to his inexpert eye. He was making a scarf, because this apparently was what beginner knitters were supposed to do. Daisy was making a scarf too, for Basira, using thick alpaca wool of a dark forest green. Jon wasn’t sure who his own scarf would go to; maybe to himself, although he supposed it didn’t matter too much, as the process was more important than the final product. As long as he was knitting, he wasn’t roaming the streets looking for someone to feed on, and this was the most important part. 

They were in Jon’s office, during what was supposed to be Jon’s lunch break. The remnants of their half-eaten lunch were laying abandoned on Jon’s desk—neither of them had much of an appetite, as food wasn’t what they were really hungering for. Better not to think about it, though. Not thinking about it was the whole purpose of the exercise. Jon swore, realizing he’d made a mistake and would need to unravel the last three ranks. 

“I’d like to say that at least it’s progressing, but I’m actually going _backward_ ,” he complained, resisting the urge to throw his needles and half-knitted misshaped scarf against the wall. 

“Knitting is good for cultivating patience,” Daisy said.

“Patience? You?” he said. 

He knew right away that his comment was mean and uncalled for, and was about to apologize for it when she said with a little wry twist of the mouth, “Precisely why I need to try and cultivate it. And so do you.”

“I suppose that’s fair. It just feels a little pointless, is all. I know, I know, the journey is its own purpose here, but I don’t know what I’m going to do with this, if it ever gets finished. I have a number of perfectly functional scarves, and who would want a handmade gift from me?”

“Martin probably would.”

One of Jon’s needles skidded against the other and pricked his finger. “Martin and I aren’t exactly on speaking or even _seeing_ terms. Not that he’s speaking much to anyone.”

“I’ve noticed,” Daisy said.

Her voice and expression were tight, which made Jon curious about whether something had happened between Daisy and Martin. He abstained from asking, though, because if he weren’t careful, he might compel her to answer, and he was trying not to do that anymore. They lapsed into another silence, only broken by the rhythmic clinking of Daisy’s needles, and the less harmonious, often erratic rhythm of Jon’s own needles. Midday sunlight poured into the office in broad beams where clouds of dust danced incessantly. Jon probably should think about doing a bit of cleaning. No one dared enter his office these days, so if he didn’t do it, then no one else would. 

After a while, Jon lost sense of how much time had passed. He had to admit that once he got into a stretch of not making any mistake that forced him to undo what he’d just knitted, the activity had something soothing to it. Meditative, even. It wasn’t something he would have ever thought to do, and especially not thought to do with company—it had always seemed like a solitary activity to him. Daisy and he didn’t even spoke much as they knitted, didn’t exchange about their technique or chat about office gossip, or monster gossip, or whatever other people idly talked about. But Daisy didn’t like to be alone anymore and Jon had to admit that she was an all right person to share a space with. Her presence was unobtrusive and undemanding. Non-judgemental, too, which was a rare quality in Jon’s acquaintances. Not that he didn’t deserve the judgement, but… well, it was enough to say that he appreciated Daisy. 

“Would _you_ like to have the scarf once I’m done?” he said, the thought suddenly popping in his mind.

Daisy critically examined the yarn thread that extended from Jon’s needle to the ball at his feet. “Red isn’t really my colour,” she said. 

“It’s not too late to change it. Since I’m going to have to undo at least half of this, I might as well start something else over. You could choose whatever yarn you fancy from that bottomless bag of yours, and I’ll make you a scarf.”

“What an appealing offer,” she said.

“You don’t have to say yes,” Jon said, feeling a bit miffed in spite of himself. “I was just offering.”

“Relax, Jon,” Daisy said. “I was just teasing.”

“Ah.” He wasn’t very used to being teased and Daisy still had an edge to her that made her teasing too sharp for comfort. Joking around wasn’t something that either of them easily did. “Do you want the scarf, then?”

Daisy rested her knitting on her lap. “You know what?” she said. “I’ll choose the yarn. If you manage to make something that I would dare wear in public before winter, then I’ll take it.”

Daisy wasn’t appearing much in public anymore, depending on your definition of ‘in public’, but Jon wasn’t about to comment on that. “Winter is months away,” he said. “I certainly hope I’ll have something finished by then.”

“So you better get started.”

Daisy chose a ball of soft warm wool and threw it at Jon, who failed to catch it and had to crouch down to pick it up. He took a moment to stroke the yarn with his fingertips, thinking of what a warm scarf it would make and feeling a prickle of anticipated satisfaction at the idea. He shook his head, feeling a bit foolish. He wasn’t even sure he would manage to make it, so there was no need to get excited. 

“Do you need to get back to work?” Daisy asked. “I think your lunch break is supposed to have ended some time ago.”

“There were a few statements I wanted to get to, but… There’s no particular hurry. We can take another half-hour. It’s not like I could get fired over slacking off.”

Daisy let out a soft snort. “I guess not.”

By the time Jon got back to work, the new scarf was already off to a decent start. Jon decided it was good enough for now.

**Author's Note:**

> And then the end of the world happens before winter, so, well, it was good while it lasted!


End file.
